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Vicendum Wiki
Welcome to the Vicendum Wiki The wiki for the alternate world that is the setting for the web series "The Infection" and "The Vicendum Chronicles". This encyclopedia is set in the present day, you can view historical maps for Vicendum at DeviantArt. Introduction Welcome to the Vicendum Wiki, the wiki for the alternate world that appears in the web series, "The Infection" and "The Vicendum Chronicles". This will be the only "Out of Character" (OOC) post on the wiki. The basics of this world is that at its core, it is essentially like our own world- the technology level is the same, many of the same cultures and cultural icons exist in this world as well, much of the same geography, flora and fauna, scientific knowledge, economic practices, etc.- but in many other areas this world is different. In Vicendum, there are a few core differences: 1) The Roman Empire never fell, be it in A.D. 476 or 1453, and continues as an entity into the modern day. 2) The Cold War claimed not just the Soviet Union but the United States of America as well. 3) Rome is the world's predominant power, with its empire having expansive territories worldwide and generating nearly a third of the world's economic output. Primarily opposing Rome is the Virtue Federation, an alliance of 50 states that effectively serves as Vicendum's "United Nations". The other major bloc in Vicendum are the modern classicists, a group of nations who have attempted to marry ancient (or "classical") ways of thinking with modern realities and sensibilities. 4) The Roman world is divided into three different blocs- the Republic, the core Roman territories administered by the Senate, the Imperium, or the provinces administered directly by representatives of the Caesar, and the Commonwealth, self-governing states for whom the Caesar is the head of state. The Roman world is very progressive and adaptable, especially within political and cultural circles, with a strong sense of national communalism and a staunch defence of personal freedoms, liberties and human rights. Their society is often held as the "paragon" for societies within Vicendum, leading to a strong sense of arrogance among Romans believing they are culturally superior to the rest of the world. Because of its economic strength and its ability to be self-sufficient, the Roman State largely pursues isolationist policies, although its status as the world's No. 1 power means it cannot actually ignore the wider world, as much as they might like to. Despite its isolationism, the Romans have several allies, chiefly Scotland and Morocco. 5) The Virtue Federation is headlined by England (the successor to the United Kingdom and the world's No. 2 power behind Rome), Birea (the world's No. 5 power), Byzantium (de jure the Eastern half of the Roman Empire but de facto an independent state), Bactria and the Mongol Khanate (the No. 3 power in the world). Although Virtue stresses within its charter to promote human rights and liberties, it is a society noted for being highly patriarchal, monogamous and heteronormative, with its constituent societies being highly nationalistic and being extremely defensive of their country's cultural institutions, with some nations even resorting to outright xenophobia. This de facto Virtual culture is one Virtue as an organization is known for defending, along with the interests of the main powers within Virtue, the "Family"- England, Byzantium, Birea, Bactria and the Mongols. 6) Headlining the non-aligned states is Africa's superpower, the Casaran Empire, which is a country I made up entirely from scratch, alongside Oman, a moderate Muslim theocracy. Together, they represent the "peacemakers" of Vicendum. 7) To replace the U.S. and Canada, the North American Union, which is a purely economic union of several different states. It is organized into several different blocs, with roguish Ontario and the somewhat anarchic states of Pueblo, Rockia and Colorado opposing blocs led by Rome and Virtue. 8) The "modern classicists" are led by the Assyrian Empire and their allies in Egypt, Carthage, Mesopotamia, and the Hittite Empire. Other modern classicists exist with Greece, Israel, Jordan and Phoenicia, states which are friendly with the Assyrian-led alliance but also have relations with Rome and Virtue at varying degrees. The Romans are considered the pioneers of modern classicism and share many of its elements, although at the state level they have chosen to merely be cordial with the other classicists. 9) Among the modern classicists are the Mesopotamianists, a political bloc that firmly opposes both Rome and Virtue. They outright reject democracy in favour of "god emperors" who rule in perpetuity. Their form of absolute rule pledges to follow the ideal of Plato's "Philosopher King", although the extent the countries actually follow this ideal is debatable. This bloc is led by Assyria, who allied with Egypt, the Mesopotamian city states, Carthage, and the Hittites. 10) Birea is the epicentre of the world's main religious antagonists, the Nathanites, being a country that practices the strictest definition of the religion. Nathanism at its core is about the subservience of women in favour of men, as well as the outright practice of violent means to forcibly convert or destroy what it deems are heresies. Birea is thus a state sponsor of the world's largest terrorist organization, the Soldiers of the Lord. 11) The Nathanites are opposed by the Petrine Catholic Church, from which the Nathanites arose after having conflicts with it. Although the Petrines have developed more progressive policies (mostly in response to Nathanism), the Petrines are relatively moderate from a worldwide perspective, being to the right of the Roman political spectrum and to the left of the Nathanites, who are much more radical. The Petrines thus share a lot of similar views with Virtue and culturally the Petrines are closer aligned with Virtue, but, due to the fact that the office of the Church's supreme leader, the Petrine Pontiff (or simply "the Pope") is technically a Roman office (though in practice the Romans have exercised no authority over the Papacy in centuries) as well as the fact the Pope makes his official residence in Rome itself, the Petrines are seen as politically aligned with Rome. 12) A state with special status in the story is Khorsun. They are members of Virtue but this is only a matter of convenience, since by all practical terms, Khorsun are a rogue state. They are a regional power with aspirations of becoming a global power. Their history has ties with the ancient Phoenicians, who founded the ancient city of Kusan in what is now modern-day Dakar in Senegal. Khorsun thus see the northern half of Africa as their rightful sphere of influence, and, as a result of this, are sworn enemies of the Romans. Casara, due to its position as the pre-eminent power in Western Africa, as well as its ideological differences with Khorsun (Casara favouring non-violence and equality, while Khorsun is a violent state that actively practices apartheid) have also come under the crosshairs of the Khorsunis. 13) Another pair of states with special status are the Kingdoms of the Vandals and the Visigoths. A mainstay within the western Mediterranean world for centuries, the two vestiges of ancient Germanic culture refuse alliances with anyone, but they do maintain relations around the world. While the Visigoths are known for their more "conventional" methods of operations, the Vandals- as strong patrons of the arts- are known for their creative way of doing things (even within government affairs) as well as their unconventional way of life. 14) Also among the rogue states of Vicendum are Bolivia, Arlynal, Serbia, Finland and Korval. 15) There are two lists of countries in this world. The first is the list of countries as recognized by the Treaty of Buffalo, a joint agreement signed by Rome, Virtue and other major powers that outlined all the countries signatories recognize as "official". This list takes predominance in terms of economic information, as it is information actually presented by the governments themselves and thus is more "reliable". The other list is the list of countries recognized by Global Citizens United (or simply "Global Citizens"), a nonprofit, nonpartisan international human rights advocacy group. This list bases their economic information entirely on estimates received "on the ground" and surveys with the local population, although the accuracy of their numbers varies with the country being surveyed. 15) The United States dollar is used as the standard of measure against which other currencies on Vicendum are compared to. This is because the currency became the most traded currency worldwide at the height of American power during the latter half of the 20th century, and the currency gained favour among economists since it represented a "neutral" currency that would allow traders to continue doing business when transferring money between nations that are bitter rivals. There are several other differences in this world- mostly from changes to "real life" history- but they're not important at this stage. They will be revealed as this Wiki expands and as the story of The Virus develops. The important thing to remember, while reading the stories, is that unless it's otherwise noted, assume the world operates as you know it. Other than that, happy trails and hope you enjoy this wiki. -DG Latest activity Photos and videos are a great way to add visuals to your wiki. Find videos about your topic by exploring Wikia's Video Library. Category:Browse